Excuses, Excuses!



Right now Jax loves making funny faces for the camera.  I'm just happy I can sometimes get him to look at me.  He's also getting old enough to realize he doesn't always want to do as he's told.  Therefore, this cutie is quickly learning the art of excuse making. 

We get a lot of the usual; I'm too busy, too tired, don't want to and can'ts.  But occasionally he'll get pretty creative with his excuses.  Here's a few of our favorites:

"It's too scary." (this one is usually used when it's time to clean up toys becuase you know how scary those toys can be!)

"No thanks, I watch you do it."

"Sorry I can't, I watching the snow melt."

"Mom, I can't, my batteries are dead."

"I can't wear clothes, I'm allergic!"

But I think my favorite is; "Sorry I can't I have to study for a test"  Hmmm I wonder where he's heard that before?  The story of my life! 

This boy sure keeps us laughing!  But how can you not love a face like that?

A Little Copycat

Kennadie really likes to be where ever Jaxson is.  She likes to take his toys, push the power button on the TV when he's watching a show and be the little sister she's supposed to be.  She's also starting to mimic him and espeically loves to be in the bathroom when he is.  When he's on the pot she also finds something to sit on and looks up at him like 'look I can do this too.'  What a funny girl we have!

Crazy Weather

Here in Ohio we have some crazy weather. (I know I'm pathetic to be blogging about the weather.)  Late winter and early spring are always a little crazy around here.

 Sometimes we get freezing rain storms.  During which storms things, espeically the roads and powerlines, get pretty messy, but afterwards the trees look beautiful.

 I love seeing the world covered in ice afterwards.

 Next we had some warm days that melted all the snow and then heavy rain which caused some major flooding.

This is about two miles from our house, luckily we live up on a hill and didn't have anything too major.


So what do we do during all the crazy weather.  To be honest most of the time we hide in our house.  Weird, cold weather and kiddos don't mix too well.

 But when it's occasionally warm enough we pull out the stroller and go for a slow jog.  With Woody in tow, of course.  At least I have one obedient child, Paisley, who looks at the camera when I try to get a picture.

 And very occasionally we bundled up to go outside and play.  Jaxson gets very excited about this and Kenna doesn't care for it so much.

 Anytime we play in the snow we have to build a snowman, even though the snow around here usually isn't the best packing snow.

 Kennadie wasn't so sure about this snowman that I put her by.

But eventually warmed up to the idea.

And if Jaxson is really lucky and daddy is around he might get to take a ride on the shovel, which is the closest thing we have to a sled right now.

As interesting and sometimes fun this weather can be I'm ready for a little more consistent sunshine and warmth.  Which might not happen until we go to Florida in May!

Goodbye February and Hello March!

March is finally here and we couldn't be happier at this house!  March marks for us a new page.  Keith is done with finals and his 3rd year of school. 

We're excited that the school will no longer be his second home because during the fourth and final year of school he's at the clinics either here or in some other state everyday.  Goodbye for now OCPM!

And although February was a rough month for us, here are a few of my favorite pictures that captured some of the really good times we also have experience lately.

 Like a pinic with friends in our messy basement.

 This little sunbeam wore a suit for the first time and looked so handsome.

 I tried to get some pics of the two of them together and this is my favorite.

 Kennadie climbing on anything and everything,

 and helping me with laundry,

 and being a wild child.

 We had a lot of indoor play time which Paisley is always a good sport to put up with.  She's so good about letting our kids crawl all over her.

 And still seems to love them.

 Jaxson is the funniest kid I've ever met, and he's always coming up with something new.

 We did a little exploring and found a great free nature center close to our house.

The kids loved it. I also just noticed that Jaxson is wearing the same orange jacket in almost every picture.  It's his favorite because it has robots on it. At least he's not in his pjs because it seems like most of the pics I have of my kids are when they're in pjs, maybe I should take that as a hint to dress them more often. :)

And thanks goodness they love each other and love us.  Yes, it was a hard month, but was also a great month.  Everyday my family makes me smile and I feel so blessed to be here at this time. We're ready for this new adventure that March will bring!

Tired

Reader Beware;  This is a little bit of a novel so I won't be offended if you skip over my ramblings.  This post is more for me to remember.

Today I find myself extremely tired.  Not only because I stayed up way too late enjoying good friends at book club, but tired of many things.  I'm tired of going to bed by myself and hardly ever seeing my husband.  Keith is finishing up his last round of finals ever (YEAH!!!) and therefore we haven't seen much of him in the past few weeks.  I'm tired of a cranky 1 year old who wants to be held all day because her front teeth are coming in.  I'm tired of an overly emotional 3 year old who seems to think I am mean to him.  I'm tired of putting the kids to bed by myself. I'm tired of one or both of my kids thinking that 4:00 am is an ok time to start the day.  I'm tired of people making stupid and hurtful decisions. I'm tired of snow, ice, cold and bundling up my kids everytime I want to leave the house. I'm tired of bad news.  I'm tired of work, cleaning up the same mess over and over, tantrums, dirty diapers, dirty dishes, bills, laundry piles, and the list can go on and on. 

And although I usually try to stay positive I think the tiredness must have shown on my face today because while trying to escape the library with a fussy baby, and upset boy because we didn't go to story time, a nice lady held the door for me and then gave me a pamphlet from her church.   Without looking at it because I was a little preoccupied at the moment I thanked her and went on my way.  Once I was in the car I read it and then laughed out loud.  The title was Comfort for the Depressed.  Was it that obvious?!  Don't take this the wrong way I'm not depressed, just having a little bit of a down week or so.  Anyway, it made me start to think about all the things I am tired of and really a lot of them had to do with my children.  I thought to myself that maybe I just need a good break from them.  But while I entertained that thought for a very short time and I realized I didn't really want a break from them.  Because if I was away from them for too long I would miss some of the moments that make it all worth it. 

 Such as this seeing this girl's face light up.

Or seeing this boy so handsome before we go to church and giving me one of those goofy facial expressions of his.



Or seeing the excitement in my kids faces as they watch for daddy to come home.

 I love the moments when I catch this girl doing something she knows she shouldn't because she will smile, give a little laugh and crawl away as fast as she can.

I also love seeing her crazy hair every morning.

I don't want to miss moments like this one.  When Jaxson seemed to think his life is in danger because he got both of his feet stuck in a cup, because after I saved him he gave me a big hug and said 'thank you mommy, I really need you.'

And I really don't want to miss the moments when these two play together so sweetly.  At this moment Jaxson was trying to teach Kenna how to talk.

And although sometimes I don't feel like I will survive, I wouldn't change a thing.  I love these kiddos.  I love their sweet snuggles and kisses.  Jaxson's wild imgination and silly games.  Kennadie's growl when she's wrestling and chubby cheeks.  And even though I am completely exhausted most of the time, I'm happy to be living in this state because that means I'm a mother.  And I really do LOVE being a mother!

A Celebration of Love

Last year we didn't really do much for Valentine's Day but this year Jaxson is at such a fun age I decided I should do something fun.  I love family traditions and Jaxson is at a great age to start a few of our own.

 So in preparation for the big day we made some valentines and dipped some chocolates.  Jaxson loved helping with everything step.

 Then we made heart shaped sugar cookies and decorated them with a friend.

Despite the look, Jaxson loved this and was pretty proud of his cookies.

 On the big day I made a fun dinner of spaghetti with heart shaped meatballs, heart toast, strawberry salad, heart watermelon, love potion juice, chocolates, treats and more! All my sweethearts seemed to love the speical dinner and we we're super excited to have Keith for a short time that day since it fell during test week.

Kennadie loved her valentines.

 And her treat bucket.

 Jaxson was over the moon about his robot bucket full of candy and a small toy.

 After a quick FHE about showing love, we ate up a few delicious cookies.

And shared a few family hugs and kisses before our favorite valentine left to study the night away.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone enjoys their day of LOVE! With these two there's always plenty to go around here! Happy Valentine's Day!